The 2020-21 NBA MVP race was one in which a number of players found their name in the conversations at various points during the season, but one name was at the top of the list throughout: Nikola Jokic.
The Nuggets do-it-all center dominated throughout the season, playing in all 72 games for Denver to led them to the 3-seed in the West, averaging 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game on 56.6/38.8/86.8 shooting splits. That consistent dominance has earned him this year’s MVP award, with Shams Charania of The Athletic breaking the news before what one would expect to be the official announcement either tonight on TNT’s pregame show or later this week when the Suns-Nuggets series shifts back to Denver.
Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic has won the 2020-21 NBA MVP award, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 8, 2021
Jokic beat out Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry, and others for the award, as there were, as always, a number of special individual seasons from around the NBA, but even as players entered and exited the MVP conversation, Jokic was the constant throughout. While it’s always important to remember that the MVP is a regular season award, Jokic has made sure to back up his stellar play in the postseason, dominating his first round matchup with the Blazers to lead Denver to a second round showdown with the Suns.
We’ll learn the full voting breakdown when the announcement is made official, but it’s fairly safe to assume that Jokic won the award by a fairly comfortable margin.
